^ 


SUCCESSFUL  NEWSPAPE 
^CtftlRESPONoi?^ 


^eluding  a  Directory  of  the  Newspapers  of  the 
United  States  to  which  news  can      ..*<'i 
profitably  be  sold.      . 


'"^'vSJ  ^jl;'  *i;^rx  .^^ 


T^;^- 


f?^^ 


THE  ART  OF 

SUCCESSFUL  NEWSPAPER 
CORRESPONDENCE. 


BY  MORRIS  J.  WHITE. 


Including  a  Directory  of  the  Newspapers  of  the 

United  States  to  which  news  can 

profitably  be  sold. 


Copyright.  1911.  by  Morris  J.  White. 


The   Art  of  Successful  Newspaper 
Correspondence. 

To  begin  with,  don't  read  this  just  once  and  lay  it  aside. 
Read  it  every  day  until  you  learn  it.     Then  you  will  profit  by  it. 

The  sphere  of  a  ne\vsi)aper  c*  )rrespt)n<leul  i^  ladically  ditler- 
ent  from  that  of  a  reporter  on  a  city  daily.  The  rej^orter  is 
looking'  for  news  of  a  local  interest.  The  correspondent  is  look- 
ing" for  news  of  interest  in  some  (.)ther  cilw 

The  l)est  market  for  a  newspaper  correspondent  is  tlie 
morning  paper.  It  pays  only  half  the  telegrai)h  rate  that  the 
afternoon  paper  does,  so  it  can  afford  U)  buy  twice  as  much. 
Besides,  most  of  the  good  news  of  a  da\-  hapjjens  too  late  to 
telegraph  to  afternoon  papers  in  other  cities.  They  go  to  press 
at  from  'I  p.  m.  to  3  p.  m.  and  in  order  to  get  a  story  to  them 
in  time  for  publication  it  has  to  be  sent  by  1  :30  or  1 :45  at  the 
latest  Thus,  practicall}'  all  the  afternoon's  news  is  shut  out, 
except  for  extra  editions,  and  it  has  to  be  pretty  important  news 
to  warrant  tolls  for  extras.  As  a  city  does  not  C()mj)letely 
awaken  until  after  9  a.  m.,  when  city  officials  and  the  heads  of 
banks  and  business  concerns  and  la\\  yers  arrive  at  their  places 
of  btisiness,  courts  open,  etc.,  and  as  state  news  does  not  begin 
to  come  in  until  10  o'clock,  the  range  (.>f  the  corres])ondent  for 
afternoon  papers  is  very  limited.  That  of  the  corresp<.)ndent 
for  morning  papers  lasts  until  an  hour  or  so  after  midnighi. 
So  this  book  is  devoted  mostly  to  the  morning  paper  work. 

The  greatest  essential  of  successful  newsi)aper  corresi)ond- 
ence  is  to  de\elop  the  faculty  of  getting  news,  instead  of  the 
faculty  of  fluent  writing,  as  so  many  people  supj)osc.  News- 
papers want  facts.  They  have  editors  and  copy  readers  whose 
business  it  is  to  whip  the  facts  into  c.rdcr  if  thev  do   not  arrive 

2470fi9 


in  the  lJC^L  ot  cohditicjii.  It  you  send  all  the  tacts,  if  yoti  scoop 
your  rival  a  little,  you  ntc^d  not  \v<jrr}'  about  whether  vour 
story   will   be  satisfactory 

But  do  not  let  this  statement  induce  carelessness  or  negli- 
gence in  writing.  The  best  writer  always  has  the  preference  if 
other  things  are  e(|ual.  It  is  only  when  the  i)oor  writer  has  his 
facts  most  complete,  and  accurately  set  forth,  that  he  trium])hs 
over  the  good  writer.  So  try  to  be  both  a  good  writer  and  a 
good  news  gatherer,  but  first  of  all.  a  good  news  gatherer. 

LEARNING  THE  GAME. 

Just  how  to  y^u  about  getting  news  is  a  puzzle  to  the  novice. 
Xine  days  of  every  ten  dawn  with  a  clean  slate  for  the  news- 
paper corresj)ondeni.  lie  has  not  the  least  idea  what  the  day 
will  'bring  forth,  and  in  that  lies  the  chief  fascination  of  the 
business.  There  is  just  one  paramount  rule  to  observe — keep 
your  eyes  and  ears  open,  think  of  the  significance  of  what  you 
see  and  hear  and  whenever  you  get  a  tip.  think  cjuickly  and  act 
cpiicki}'.  The  a\erage  person  without  newspaper  training  sees 
without  really  seeing  and  hears  without  really  hearing;  that  is. 
he  does  not  stop  to  consider  the  meaning  of  what  he  sees  and 
hears. 

A  man  or  woiuan  who  has  had  actual  newsj^aper  experience 
naturally  has  an  adwintage  in  tlie  correspondence  field  over 
one  who  has  not.  lUit  that  need  not  discourage  the  t>utsider. 
There  is  only  one  way  to  learn  newspaper  work,  and  that  is  to 
go  after  news  and  use  }our  wits  to  get  it.  This  can  as  well  be 
done  b\-  a  free  lance  as  by  a  rei)ortei'  connected  with  a  news- 
paper. 

Ill    ])lanning   a    campaign    renuMuber    this: 

Never  go  to  a  man  and  ask  him  if  he  has  any  news. 

Almost  invariably  llu-  answer  will  be  in  the  negatixe,  even 
if  thai  inan  is  loaded  with  news,  lie  cannot  think  of  what  he 
knows   in   the   line  i^\   news  on  the  spur  ^^\   the   moment. 

2 


Lay  out  your  (.aiiipai-ii  hcl'orc  y<>ii  apinoac'li  a  man.  It  is 
best  to  liave  S(inie  dctinitc  (object  to  lead  up  to.  It  vou  haven't, 
but  are  simply  seekiuj^  to  develop  soinethint;.  such  as  is  ^;eiu-i- 
ally  the  case  when  a  prominent  man  ethnics  to  vcnir  citv  and 
}(~)U  are  sent  to  inter\ie\v  him.  fortify  yourself  with  s<.)me  care- 
fully prepared  (juestions  to  ask — (juestions  on  subjects  in  which 
he  himself  is  likely  tn  be  interested.  That  will  start  a  con\er- 
sation.  and  if  he  is  an  authorit}-  on  the  subjects  yen  haw 
brought  uj).  he  will  \ery  soon  be  sayini^-  somethini^^  worth 
printing. 

Men  in  the  [)id:)lic  eye,  whether  statesmen,  the  heads  of 
business  or  educational  institutions,  or  men  prominently  iden- 
tified with  such  institutions,  in  short,  men  wh(^  play  a  part  in 
big"  affairs  of  any  sort,  always  have  news.  Tt  depends  on  the 
skill  of  a  correspondent  to  bring  it  out. 

The  rule  applies  to  all  cpiests  for  news.  Start  a  conversa- 
tion. If  the  man  you  talk  to  does  not  happen  to  have  any  news 
he  may  say  something  wdiich  will  give  you  a  tip  leading  to  big 
results.  Even  when  covering  "routine,"  (the  news  of  police 
stations,  courts  and  offices  in  city  and  county  buildings  which 
is  prepared  and  waiting  for  all  reporters  to  come  in  and  look 
at),  the  people  you  talk  with  may  give  you  an  inkling  of  a 
much  bigger  story  than  is  contained  in  the  official  records  you 
are  picking'  up. 

Jn  approaching  a  man  who  is  disinclined  to  talk,  always 
impress  him  with  the  fact  that  you  are  trying  to  do  him  a 
favor,  not  an  injur}- ;  that  there  is  a  story  to  such-and-such 
effect,  and  that  all  you  desire  is  the  truth  n\  it,  and  have  come 
to  him  because  he  is  the  fountainhead  of  knowledge  on  that 
subject.  C^ne  very  old  and  very  successful  ruse  to  open  the 
mouths  of  men  and  wr)men  who  rebuti"  newspai)er  men  i^  to 
give  them  to  understand,  by  inference,  if  possible,  in  preference 
to  direct  words,  that  you  know  all  about  "the  other  side"  of 
the  case  and  only  desire  to  be  fair  in  getting  this  side  of  it. 

3 


Ill  any  e\eiit,  never  give  U[)  until  the  paper  has  gone  to 
JMCSS — you  will  he  surprised  at  what  ohstacles  you  will  over- 
come. 

Xo  matter  how  small  a  city,  it  has  some  man  or  men  who 
are  known  to  the  outside  world.  Cultivate  them,  and  in  their 
conversation  you  will  find  a  continual  source  of  revenue.  You 
must  understand,  however,  that  these  men  do  not  care  to  talk 
on  trivial  subjects.  They  are  too  busy  to  bother  with  trivialties, 
else  they  would  not  have  gained  prominence.  There  is  always 
something  new  in  the  affairs  in  which  they  are  interested. 
Plan  to  draw  it  out. 

'Jlieir  opinions  on  important  current  news  are  valuable.  In 
view^  of  this,  keep  an  eye  on  what's  doing  in  the  world.  If 
something  happens  in  another  city,  such  as  a  business  or 
j)olitical  development,  in  which  a  prominent  man  of  your  city 
would  be  interested,  ask  him  what  he  thinks  about  it,  what 
conditions  led  up  to  it,  and  what  he  thinks  it  will  lead  t6. 
Almost  anything  he  says  will  be  of  value.  Often  the  simple 
fact  that  a  man  declines  to  talk  on  a  given  subject  is  the  best 
kind  of  news,  owing  to  the  infeTences  which  can  be  drawn,  or 
the  circumstances  of  his  declination. 

If  a  prominent  politician  visits  another  one,  especially  if 
they  be  of  ditTereiit  cities  or  states,  why  does  he  do  it?  If  a 
city  official  or  other  i:)roniinent  man  goes  to  sc^mc  (~>thcr  city, 
what  is  his  object?  If  a  club,  civic  board  or  other  organiza- 
ti<^n  is  called  in  a  s])ecial  meeting,  what  is  in  the  air?  Why 
couhhi't  the}'  wait  until  the  regular  meeting?  If  a  big  block 
of  real  estate  is  sold,  what  does  the  new  owner  intend  to  (\o 
with  it?  In  fact,  there  is  a  "what"  t(^  almost  everything  that 
happens.     AnsNyer  those  "whats"  and  you  have  news. 

To  get  these  tips,  mix  with  people  of  all  classes.  \'isit 
the  sources  of  routine  news,  such  as  ccnirts,  county  and  city 
offices,  police    stations   and   hotels. 

Often    \()u    will    find    news    rea(h'    made.      .\11    von    lu\e   to 


do  is  to  grab  it,  and  perhaps  ^ct  a  few  details.  Never  j;ct  dis- 
coiirai^ed.  The  \  ery  l)est  news  always  hreaks  suddenly  and 
unexpectedly.  That  is  why  it  is  the  l)e>t.  in  the  ne\vsi)ai)cr 
tield  more  than  in  anything-  else,  the  means  to  success  is 
eternal  vii^ilance.  Jxead  all  the  i)ai)ers  puhlished  in  \. »ur  city, 
and   keep  posted. 

Von  can  .L;et  many  tips  from  them,  and  manv  C()mi)lctc 
stories. 

It  is  all  ri.i;ht  tn  file  news  taken  from  an  aiu-rnoon  pajuT 
tn  a  morning-  pajjcr  in  another  city,  or  news  from  a  mornini^ 
l)aper  to  an  afternoon  ])aper  in  another  city;  hut  never  file  a 
story  a  day  old  from  one  morning  paper  to  another  morning 
paper.  It  is  better  to  miss  an  item  altogether  than  to  file  one 
"M  hours  old  and  have  your  paper  detect  you  in  it.  A  story  is 
news  onl}'  when  it  is  new. 

W  hen  you  get  your  news,  offer  it  \o  your  papers  in  the 
form  of  a  query.  That  is.  wire  them  a  brief  outline  of  what 
you  have.  If  they  want  it.  they  will  order  it.  This  pr(»cess  is 
more   full\-   explained   further  on    in   this   book. 

DIFFERENT   CLASSES   OF   NEWS. 

The  news  a  correspondent  wants  is  of  three  kinds — news  of 
a  color  local  to  the  city  in  which  the  ])aper  to  which  it  is 
offered  is  published,  news  of  a  general  interest  throughcnit  the 
country,  and  state  news. 

The  first  is  by  far  the  easiest  to  sell.  It  C(.^nsists  of  mat-- 
ters  which  directly  concern  the  city  in  which  your  paper  is 
published,  or  concerning  some  person  a  resident  of.  or  well 
known  in  that  city,  or  concerning  something  which  ha>  hap- 
pened in  that  cit}-.  thus  having  a  direct  interest  there.  The 
special  correspondent  generally  has  a  clear  field  on  this,  because 
the  Associated  Press  or  other  news  associations  do  not  carry 
items  of  a  local  character.  Though  the  service  of  these  asso- 
ciations is  very  extensive,  they  cannot  handle  everything  that 
happens  in  the  world,  or  e\en  in  the  United  States. 

5 


As  examples  of  this  kind  of  news:  If  a  prominent  man 
from  some  other  cit}-  is  in  your  city,  and  gives  an  interview 
upon  any  subject,  ofYer  it  to  the  papers  in  the  man's  home  citv. 
Find  out  the  object  of  his  visit.  That  will  make  a  good  item. 
If  either  a  man  or  woman  from  some  other  city  is  married  in 
your  city,  it  is  news  in  that  ])arty's  home  city.  It  is  still  better 
news  if  elopers  come  to  your  city  and  marry,  or  try  to  marrv 
iind  fail.  If  a  robbery  or  murder  has  been  committed  in  some 
other  city,  no  matter  how  long  ago,  and  the  culprit  is  captured 
in  your  city,  it  is  of  more  interest  in  the  other  cit}-  than  it  is 
in  your  own.  Or  if  some  resident  of  your  city  goes  to  some 
other  city  and  does  something  noteworthy,  the  papers  in  that 
city  will  want  something  concerning  his  identity,  career  and 
accomplishments.  In  short,  look  out  for  anything  in  which  the 
name  of  another  city  is  mentioned. 

News  which  is  of  interest  in  several  cities  the  Associated 
Press  is  likely  to  carry,  for  enough  of  its  papers  desire  it  to 
make  it  an  object.  A  story  of  very  large  character  you  gener- 
ally will  not  do  much  with,  because  everybody  wants  it  and 
the  news  associations  will  cover  it  thoroughly.  About  the  only 
chance  you  will  have  to  get  an  order  ou  it  will  be  to  oftcr 
some  sidelight  or  feature  which  the  news  associations  have  not 
had  space  to  cover.  Or  if  it  happens  to  be  a  story  hard  to  get 
at,  you  might  get  an  order  if  you  offer  it  early.  The  Associated 
Press  often  is  late  with  its  stories  because  it  depends  upon  the 
newspapers  in  the  various  cities  for  most  of  its  news  and  if  a 
story  hapj)ens  to  be  delayed  in  the  ncws]-)a]icr  <^fficc  the  Asso- 
ciated  Press  cannot   get   it   early. 

THE   EASIEST  MONEY. 

The  best  class  of  general  news  to  sell  is  sjiorting  news. 
The  news  associations  carry  lots  of  this  but  there  is  such  a 
plethora  of  it  that  they  also  forego  lots  of  it,  or  handle  it  in 
such  brief  form  that  it  is  insufficient  for  most   i)apers. 


Baseball,  prize  r'uv^  and  foolhall  arc  the  most  in  demand, 
ranking  in  the  order  named.  In  hasehall.  if  you  reside  in  a 
major  league  city  the  doings  and  sayings  of  tlic  owner,  manager 
or  players  of  your  home  team  are  of  interest  thrcnighout  the 
circuit.  Shifts  in  the  team,  trades  or  j)urchases  of  players,  and 
plans  for  the  future  all  command  attention.  If  you  are  in  a 
minor  league  city,  your  club  is  likely  to  sell  a  player  to  some 
major  league  club,  or  some  scouts  may  happen  in  to  look  over 
certain  players.  There  may  be  some  unusual  feature  of  a  game, 
such  as  a  no-hit  game,  or  a  fight  between  players  or  an  attack 
on  an  umpire.  If  you  happen  to  be  a  baseball  writer  you  can 
cover  the  games  for  papers  in  other  cities  which  do  not  send 
staff  men  with  their  teams.  Whether  you  are  in  a  major  or 
minor  league  city,  the  papers  in  the  other  cities  of  your  circuit 
always  want  any  news  you  have  regarding  any  of  the  clubs. 

Newspapers  of  all  kinds  and  sizes  are  greedy  for  prize 
ring  news.  It  doesn't  make  much  difference  whether  a  fighter 
is  well  known  or  not.  Every  prize  fighter  is  his  own  press 
agent,  and  this  fight  stuff  is  the  greatest  bunc  that  ever  was 
exploited  for  news.  Any  man  who  can  don  a  pair  of  gloves  and 
live  through  a  preliminary  can  get  attention  on  the  sporting 
])ages  by  bragging  what  he  intends  to  do  to  some  one  higher  up. 
If  a  fighter  already  prominent  spills  such  talk  it  is  grabbed 
for  like  free  ice  cream.  A  fighter  does  not  have  to  be  a  cham- 
pion, or  even  a  near  champion,  to  be  prominent.  He  only  has 
to  do  or  say  something  to  make  himself  talked  alxuit.  When- 
ever you  sell  an  item  on  him  you  increase  his  value  for  more. 
It  makes  no  difference  what  he  says.  A  fighter  may  say  one 
thing  one  minute  and  contradict  himself  the  next.  A  wise 
correspondent  will  sell  the  first  remark  the  day  he  gets  it  and 
hoard  up  the  other  until  the  folhnving  day.  then  sell  that  too. 

Football  news  is  more  local  in  character  than  baseball  or 
fight  news.  Nowadays  every  state  has  its  university.  The 
large  states  have  several.     News  of  a   university   football   team 


is  good  in  the  cities  of  each  state  which  lias  a  college  on  that 
team's  schedule.  For  instance,  Ohio  has  several  well  known 
colleges — Ohio  State  University,  at  Columbus,  Case  and  West- 
ern Reserve  in  Cleveland,  Oberlin,  Miami,  and  others.  If  any 
of  these  i)lays  in  any  other  state,  a  story  of  the  game  can  be 
sold  to  every  paper  in  Cleveland,  Cincinnati  and  Columbus. 
Toledo,  while  i)ractically  as  large  a  city  as  Columbus,  is  shy  on 
newspaper   enterprise. 

Stories  of  the  team's  i)raclice.  or  of  the  individual  players, 
especially  in  case  of  illness  or  injury,  or  ])enalties  in  studies 
which  may  keep  them  out  of  the  game,  and  remarks  and  plans 
of  the  coach  are  valuable.  Students  in  college  cities  do  a  great 
deal  of  this  football  correspondence,  but  their  lack  of  actual 
newspaper  training  induces  papers  in  many  large  cities  to  in- 
trust their  football  correspondence  to  some  experienced  man  in 
the  largest  city  of  the  state,  who  can  cull  the  cream  from  what 
the  college  correspondents  send  in  and  forward  a  concise 
story. 

College  baseball  and  track  sports  are  covered  in  the  same 
way  as  football. 

Other  sports,  golf,  tennis,  ^achting,  baseball,  wrestling, 
shooting  and  even  skating,  skat,  chess  and  checkers  are  salable 
to  a  limited  extent — always  to  cities  from  which  the  visiting 
contestants  hail.  Horse  races  are  not 'of  great  consequence, 
as  the  news  associations  generally  carry  all  that  is  wanted  oi 
Ihcni. 

WIDEST  RANGE  IS  IN   STATE  NEWS. 

State  news  is  in  a  held  by  itself.  It  is  the  most  lucrative 
()\  all  to  corrcsj)on{lents  who  can  get  in  right  on  it.  The  great 
bulk  of  it  is  sold  to  the  i)apers  of  the  large  cities  of  a  state, 
which  ha\e  a  state  wide  circulation.  These  papers  take  prac- 
tically e\erything  that  happens.  They  use  it  in  their  state 
editions  (Mily,  then  throw  it  away  to  make  room  for  late  general 
news,      in    states   like    .\cw   ^'ork.    rcnnsyh  ania,   (^hio,    Illinois, 

8 


Michigan  and  a  few  others  which  contain  cities  of  half  a  million 
or  more  population,  a  corres])on(lent  in  a  small  city  can  make 
a  hundretl  dollars  a  mouth  from  just  one  hii;  paper.  A  city  of 
30,000  to  50,000  population  is  aj)!  to  furnish  a  dozen  items  in  a 
day.  There  is  a  minimum  rate  on  them,  j^enerally  ;{.")  cent>. 
though  some  ver\-  good  papers  pay  but  25  cents.  lUit  they  pay 
enough  for  the  stories  that  exceed  one  hundred  word>  to  hriii- 
the  total  for  a  day's  correspondence  up  to  from  three  to  Wm: 
dollars.  A  correspondent  handling  two  such  papers  has  a 
good  thing,  especially  as  he  can  sell  a  considerable  i)ortion  of 
the  same  news  to  large  papers  in  adjoining  states  which  U'a\  r  a 
circulation  in  certain  parts  of  his  own   state. 

Chicago  papers,  for  instance,  cover  Michigan  and  W'iscon- 
sin  almost  as  thoroughly  as  do  the  Detroit  and  Milwaukee 
papers  respectively.  Cincinnati  papers  circulate  largely  in 
Kentucky  and  Indiana,  besides  in  Ohio.  The  Cincinnati  En- 
quirer circulates  everywhere  in  the  United  States  and  takes 
news  from  everywdiere.  Cleveland  papers  are  somewhat  re- 
stricted. They  cannot  go  far  south  because  they  meet  the 
competition  from  Cincinnati  and  Pittsburg;  to  the  west  they  are 
shut  oil  by  Chicago  and  Detroit;  to  the  east  they  collide  with 
Buffalo.  Chicago  papers  have  a  clean  sweej)  to  the  west  and 
northwest  until  they  reach  the  zone  of  the  Denver  pai)ers.  St. 
Louis  shuts  oft'  Chicago  in  the  southwest,  and  takes  for  its  own 
general  territory,  all  the  great  southwest  to  the  farthest  corners 
of  Texas.  News  fn^m  anywhere  in  that  section  can  be  handled 
for  St.  Louis  papers  much  as  state  news  is.  Philadelphia  and 
Pittsburg  divide  Pennsylvania.  New  York  has  its  own  stale. 
New  Jersey,  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Poland  and  a  fair  general 
circulation  in  the  rest  of  Xew  England,  with  some  in  the  middle 
west.  Boston  makes  a  specialty  of  Xew  England.  The  south- 
ern states  east  of  the  Mississippi  are  in  the  sphere  of  Baltimore 
and  Washington,  except  Tennessee,  Louisiana  and  .Mississippi, 
wdiich  are  better  covered  bv  Cincinnati.  Chicago  and  St.  Louis. 


While  the  big  papers  in  these  cities  want  the  best  news  of 
a  nature  local  to  outside  territory  in  which  it  originates,  they 
do  not  use  it  as  freely  as  they  do  news  from  their  own  states. 

THE  FEATURE  STORY. 

One  strong  point  in  state  news  is  the  feature  story.  A 
feature  story  is  one  which  is  not  of  great  intrinsic  importance 
but  has  an  odd  turn  which  makes  it  interesting.  It  bears  the 
same  relation  to  news  that  fiction  does  to  history — interesting, 
but  that  is  all.  ,\  state  correspondent  can  use  feature  stories 
ad.  lib.,  sent  by  mail.  Only  the  best  of  them  are  good  enough 
to  send  by  wire  to  papers  in  other  states.  These  must  be  short. 
Fifty  to  a  hundred  words  is  all  that  newspapers  care  to  pay 
tolls  on.  Except  in  state  news  they  have  to  go  by  wire  be- 
cause if  you  mail  them  the  editors  will  fear  that  they  arc  old, 
even  though  ^ou  ma}'  have  dug  them  up  exclusively  for  your- 
self. 

Some  feature  stories  partake  of  the  sensational,  in  which 
case  tliey  rise  above  the  feature  class.  More  newspapers  will 
buy  sensations  than  will  accept  the  simple  feature  stories.  Sen- 
sations also  will  draw  the  biggest  orders.  If  prominent  per- 
sons are  involved  the  papers  will  take  almost  any  amount  you 
offer — providing  the  story  is  not  so  big  the  Associated  Press 
carries  it.  in  which  case  you  are  shut  out.  But  you  are  not 
supposed  to  know  anything  about  what  the  Associated'  Press 
carries,   so  query   everything. 

The  subject  matter  of  a  feature  st^^ry  is  of  little  ckiisc- 
quence.  It  is  the  oddity  that  counts.  An  odd  accident.  (u\i\ 
adventure,  odd  case  of  animal  intelligence,  odd  tragedy.  ^H\^\ 
romance,  odd  marriage  tangle,  odd  medical  case  or  surgical 
operation,  all  are  e(|ually  good  for  pai")ers  that  like  feature 
stories.  Sometimes  a  single  hundred  word  item  can  be  sold  a 
dozen  times. 

It  will  not  ilo,  however,  to  (juery  all  newspapers  on  feature 

10 


stories.  Some  editors  will  not  touch  them  and  will  reverse  tolls 
on  you.  Afternoon  newspapers  will  not  take  feature  stories  by 
wire  because  of  the  costly  tolls.  There  are  some  that  are  ^\n(\ 
to  get  them  by  mail,  however. 

Newspapers  like  to  get  as  much  matter  by  mail  as  possible, 
for  their  telegraph  bills  are  one  of  their  largest  editorial  e\- 
f)enses.  A  state  correspondent,  especially  one  serving  an  after- 
noon paper,  can  send  a  great  deal  of  matter  by  mail.  ii>v  he 
lives  near  the  city  in  which  his  paper  is  published.  Anv  time 
a  state  correspondent  is  certain  he  has  a  story  some  other  cor- 
respondent knows  not  of,  he  should  mail  it.  It  will  be  only 
three  or  four  hours  reaching  its  destination;  often  not  more  than 
two  hours.  In  that  way  he  will  get  much  more  money  out  of 
it  himself,  for  the  paper  will  use  two  or  three  times  as  much 
of  a  long  story  if  it  gets  it  without  the  expense  of  telegraphing. 
A  thousand  word  story  mailed  may  all  get  into  the  paper;  if 
queried,  the  chances  are  the  order  would  be  "Send  '300,"  unlcs* 
it  was  an  exceptionally  good  story.  Thus  the  correspondent 
would  get  $3  for  it.  instead  of  seventy-five  cents. 

Afternoon  papers  are  not  as  shy  of  mail  stories  as  morning 
papers  are.  for  good  news  which  turned  up  too  late  in  a  day 
for  them  to  get  by  wire  is  still  good  news  when  it  appears  in 
the  office  bright  and  early  the  next  morning,  while  news  mailed 
to  a  morning  paper  cannot  be  less  than  twenty-four  hours  old 
when  it  is  published,  unless  it  is  sent  a  very  short  distance. 

The  correspondent  in  a  large  city  finds  the  value  in  state 
news  to  lie  in  relaying  it  to  other  large  cities  which  have  paper:* 
circulating  in  his  state.  Many  papers  rely  on  their  correspon- 
dent in  the  largest  city  of  a  state  to  cover  the  entire  state  for 
them.  That  often  is  a  lucrative  source  of  income,  because  the 
news  associations  (!«•  not  carry  such  news.  The  Associated 
Press  has  a  state  wire  in  all  the  states  of  large  population.  On 
this  wire  general  news  is  cut  to  a  small  proportion  of  its  original 
bulk  and  short  items  of  state  news  are  handled  in  its  stead.     As 

11 


"the  Associated  Press  main  wires  carry  only  general  news,  these 
state  items  never  are  sent  outside  the  state  unless  they  happen 
to  be  of  general  interest.  Often  items  which  actually  are  of 
;general  interest  are  not  sent  out. 

SMALL  CITIES   AS  A   FIELD  FOR  NEWS. 

While  most  news  of  general  interest  originates  in  the  large 
cities,  the  correspondents  in  small  cities  tlmt  are  college  towns, 
or  state  capitals,  or  have  large  business  interests,  ought  to  do 
])articularly  well  with  general  news.  Such  cities  as  Gar}-,  Ind., 
Lorain,  Ohio,  Battle  Creek,  Mich..  Dulutli.  Minn..  lUitte,  Mont., 
and  a  score  of  others,  while  small,  have  business  enterprises  of 
national  renown.  Many  of  the  great  colleges  are  located  in 
cities  of  less  than  ^.'ijxio  j)opulation.  'JMie  capitals  of  most 
states  are  in  comparatively  small  cities. 

In  state  capitals  the  political  pot  almost  always  is  boiling. 
A  little  prying  into  jxilitics  is  apt  at  any  time  to  disclose  a  turn 
of  national  interest.  If  a  legislator  plans  to  intn)duce  some 
unique  bill  and  you  can  learn  of  it  before  hand,  you  have  a 
clear  field  on  it.  These,  and  bills  affecting  railroads,  (^r  other 
interstate  instituti(»ns  such  as  insurance  c«»m panics,  or  large 
business  corporations,  or  church  organizations,  are  good  news 
in  other  states.  So  is  an  original  policy  or  crusade  by  the 
governor,  or  a  campaign  against  a  I'nited  States  senator  or  a 
congressman,  or  a  camjiaign  affecting  a  state  delegation  to  a 
national   convention. 

In  college  towns  there  arc  man}'  i)rofessors  and  thousands 
of  students  from  other  states.  Their  doings  anil  sayings  and 
accomplishments  will  be  of  interest  to  papers  in  their  home 
states.  Often  there  are  prominent  members  of  the  facult\-  and 
'even  students,  whose  accomplishments  constitute  news  of  gen- 
eral importance.  Capt.  Sealby,  who  was  in  command  (^f  the 
Steamer  Republic  when  she  was  smdv  in  a  \o^^,  entered  Michigan 
University  after  that  episode,  to  study  admiralty  law.  instead 
•of  returning  to  the  sea.  In  one  of  the  far  nt^rthwestern  states 
•an  ex-congressman   entered  college  in   the   fall   oi  IIMI. 

13 


A   MINE   THAT  IS   NEGLECTED. 

rractically  all  C(>lk\L;c  news  is  handled  hv  sludcnt  corres- 
pondents, and  most  of  them,  in  their  enthusiasm  for  what  docs 
most  to  keep  the  name  ct  their  uni\ersity  before  the  public, 
can  see  nothinj:;-  but  the  fo(jtball,  basel:)all  and  track  teams.  In 
overlooking;  news  of  the  students  and  the  facult\-,  they  iL::norc 
a  tield  as  fertile  as  that  of  colle.c^e  sports. 

Suppose,  as  an  exami)lc,  a  student  is  acting'  as  a  corres- 
pondent in  one  of  the  universities  in  Chicai^o.  A  student  from 
Missouri  is  elected  an  officer  of  his  class,  or  editor  of  the 
collei^e  paper,  or  wins  a  place  on  a  del)atin|L;-  team,  or  writes  a 
colle.^e  son^::,  or  makes  the  football  or  base])all  team  or  shows 
up  well  in  track  athletics,  or  has  an  accident,  or  in  any  other 
way  attracts  attention — Missouri  papers  want  it.  five  of  them  in 
St.  Louis,  four  in  Kansas  City  and  a  cou])le  in  St.  Joseidi.  The 
chances  are  that  more  than  half  of  them  would  order  a  hundred 
or  more  words  of  the  story  and  the  correspondent  would  make 
three  or  four  dollars  on  it.  A  big  university  is  likely  to  have 
students  from  every  state  in  the  Union,  and  a  correspondent 
who  keeps  his  eyes  and  ears  open  can  make  a  good  living  from 
what  seems  to  the  average.  unobser\-ing  youth  to  be  common- 
place incidents. 

I  know  of  a  case  in  which  a  student  corresp<^ndent  of  a 
middle  west  uni\ersity  wrcjte  to  the  big  papers  in  every  state 
asking  them  if  they  would  not  like  a  list  of  the  students  enrolled 
from  their  state  and  what  they  were  doing.  Almost  every  i)aper 
answered  in  the  al¥irmati\e  and  he  made  more  than  a  hundred 
dollars  from  the  work. 

The  president  of  a  large  college  or  university  generally 
is  a  figure  of  national  importance.  His  opinions  on  public  affairs, 
educational  matters  and  sociological  ]n-oblems  always  are  a 
matter  of  interest.  ^Nlany  of  the  faculty  also  are  i)romincnt. 
New^s  regarding  instructors  who  are  not  ])roniin(nt  cni  be  -nid 
in  the  states  from  which  they  hail. 

]3 


Afternoon  papers  confine  their  special  correspondence  al- 
most exclusively  to  state  news  and  to  matters  with  a  feature 
local  to  their  own  city,  because  of  the  high  telegraph  tolls. 
On  very  important  subjects  they  will  order  special  stories  from 
cities  outside  the  state.  They  will  order  short  items  from  out- 
side the  state  if  they  have  an  end  local  to  their  city.  A  few 
of  them  that  make  a  specialty  of  sensational  stories  will  take 
anything  of  that  nature  that  turns  up  anywhere.  A  few  others 
that  operate  or  are  connected  with  a  news  service  other  than 
the  Associated  Press  will  take  general  matter  in  small  doses  for 
the  use  of  their  service.  For  these  reasons  it  hardly  i)ays  to 
bother  with  afternoon   papers  except   for  state   correspondence. 

In  fact,  for  a  man  who  is  serving  morning  papers,  to  serve 
afternoon  papers  also  will  actually  cause  him  a  loss.  Suppose  a 
story  turns  up  good  for  New  York  or  Chicago.  High  telegraph 
tolls  will  prevent  most  of  the  afternoon  papers  ordering  it. 
If  you  query  it,  probably  you  will  get  an  order  from  just  one 
of  them,  and  that  order  will  be  small.  You  will  make  from 
fifty  cents  to  a  dollar  on  it.  lUit  if  you  had  left  it  alone,  taking 
a  chance  on  the  Associated  Press  or  some  other  correspondent 
sending  it  out.  probably  you  would  have  sold  it  to  at  least  three 
morning  pai)crs  at  from  one  dollar  to  two  dollars  each.  In 
short,  you  would  have  made  a  profit  of  from  two  to  five  dollars 
by  letting  it  alone  in  the  afternoon,  for  if  you  sell  it  to  just 
one  afternoon  paper  it  will  kill  the  sale  of  it  for  morning  papers 
altogether. 

There  is  little  danger  that  anyone  else  will  send  it  to  after- 
noon ])apers,  owing  to  the  conditions  descril)0(l  in  the  fore- 
going paragrai)hs. 

THE  NEWS  TO  LOOK  OUT  FOR. 

While  the  exact  sort  of  news  any  paper  or  papers  will  want 
cannot  be  told,  for  the  reason  that  whenever  there  is  a  shake-up 
in   the  editorial   seats  new  ideas  come  to  the   frt^nt.   a  compre- 

14 


hensive  summary  of  tlic  classes  of  news  to  look  out  for  can  be 
quite  accurately  set  forth.  In  brief,  the  news  a  general  corre- 
spondent wants  is  as  follows: 

Items  rcj^ardiuL;  i)coi)le  of  other  states  who  visit  \oiir  citv. 
especially  prominent  men  and  women.  .Ascertain  the  object  of 
their  visit  and  i^et  them  to  talk  about  it. 

Prominent  people  of  your  own  state  and  citv  a<  well  as 
of  other  states  can  hi^uro  in  i^'-eneral  news,  while  j)eople  not  well 
known  furnish  items  ji^dc^d  only  for  the  cit}'  from  which  the\' 
came. 

Get  court  cases  in  which  people  of  other  states  are  involved. 

Weddings  and  divorces  in  which  people  of  other  states 
figure. 

Business  deals  involving  $100, UUO  or  more,  such  as  the 
merger  of  big  firms  or  banks,  the  establishment  of  new  ones  r»r 
the  sale  of  old  ones.     Also  failures  and  lawsuits. 

Look  out  for  corporation  news,  especially  of  telegraph,  tele 
phone,  railroad  and  power  cojmpanies. 

Political  news  that  has  a  national  bearing. 

Accidents  and  murders  are  good  if  some  prominent  person 
is  involved,  or  some  person  from  another  state,  or  if  there  is 
some  sensational   feature. 

Fires  which  destroy  large  bu*^iness  concerns  or  the  resi- 
dences of  wealthy  or  famous  men. 

Crimes  of  the  **big"  class,  such  as  embezzlements,  bank 
wrecking,  and  swindles. 

Feature  stories  of  unusually  good  (piality.  csi)ecially  if  they 
can  be  illustrated. 

All  sorts  of  sporting  news.  This  is  easiest  t«i  get  as  well 
as  easiest  to  sell,  because  all  men  connected  with  sports,  exce|)t 
the  sedate  major  league  club  owners,  like  to  talk  of  their  accom- 
plishments and  plans. 

Always  look  out  for  a  chance  to  illustrate  a  story.  Photo- 
graphs are  in  good  demand  and  most  papers  pay  well  t<-)r  them. 

15 


Photos  to  accomiKiny  the  announcement  <>f  an  engagement  or 
the  story  of  a  werlding  are  particularly   salable. 

State  news  C(jrrespon(lents  want  i)ractically  everything  out 
of  the  ordinary  that  happens  in  their  town. 

Perhaps  the  best  way  to  convey  a  good  idea  of  salable 
general  news  is  to  give  a  list  of  items  1  sold  in  one  month  to  a 
single  Chicago  paper,  the  month  selected  being  one  in  which  a 
varied  range  of  news  turned  up,  and  not  much  of  it  feature  stufif. 
It  was  October,  190i),  the  matter  being  filed  from  Detroit.  On 
only  one  day,  aside  from  Sundays,  did  the  paper  fail  to  order 
at  least  one  story.  The  total  for  the  month  was  12,325  words. 
That  is  better  than  the  average  for  general  correspondence,  but 
a  state  corespondent  serving  a  big  paper  in  the  largest  city  of 
his  own  state  often  can  double  such  a  file.  The  stories  were  as 
follows,  many  of  them  being  filed  to  other  cities  also,  enabling 
me  to  sell  them  several  times : 

Manager  Jennings  on  \\'orld's  series  chances.  Capt.  Sealby 
attending  Michigan  University.  A  woman  tortured.  City 
l)acks  a  ball  team  as  an  advertisement.  Football.  Hazing  at  a 
college.  A  move  of  the  Wholesalers  Association.  Interview 
with  a  Chicago  man.  Athletic  field  for  co-eds  at  University. 
r.cll  hops'  graft.  A  murder.  Betting  on  World's  series. 
Another  on  the  same.  ]3r.  Cook's  visit.  Police  Commissioner's 
radical  moxe.  School  of  religion.  Evangelists  speak  from  auto. 
Story  on  .Manager  Jennings.  University  flag  rush.  Senator 
Purrows  story.  l)aseba]l.  World's  series  betting.  r.ascl>all. 
l^hysician  arrested.  Mad  l)ull  escapes.  Ban  Johnson.  A 
murder.  Ticket  scalpers.  Stanley  Ketchell's  mother.  Baseball. 
Mail  story  on  nuinici|)al  graft.  3,000  words.  Baseball  aftermath. 
A  defaulter.  jiaseball.  i'rize  fight.  Defaulter.  lilted  youth 
lakes  life,  r.aseball.  Mob  of  women  riots.  Ty  Cobb's  auto. 
Shi])  launch.  Church  story.  ]-)aseball.  Furniture  factory  story. 
Baseball.  \'.  M .  ('.  A.  plans.  Jennings  signs.  Secretary  Dick- 
ins(Ui   not    entitled   to  life  saving  medal.    1. <>()()  words.     Baseball. 

]G 


(."ollege  story.  Detroit  Tnitcd  Railway  story.  Divorce.  Anti- 
treat  society.  Story  on  I'^.x  Secret  a  rv  W'wIuTrv.  l^niversitv 
endowments. 

The  baseball  was  short  items  re-ardin-  the  rlnh  and  play- 
ers. 

TRIVIAL  MATTERS  TO  FIGHT  SHY  OF. 

A  study  of  the  sort  of  news  wanted  is  no  more  important 
than  a  consideration  of  what  is  not  wanted,  'j'his  is  hroiit^dit 
to  mind  by  the  fact  that  editors  everywhere  are  receiving  from 
individuals  in  small  cities,  and  even  villa^^es,  hundreds  of  miles 
distant,  crudely  written  items  rec^ardino-  people  and  happeninti^s 
which  hardly  would  be  worth  j)rintin.i;-  in  the  towns  in  which 
they  originate,  much  less  in  large  cities.  Generally  they  are 
accompanied  by  letters  sprinkled  with  wise-sounding  newsi)aper 
terms,  used  in  a  way  indicating  only  a  vague  idea  of  their 
meaning,  unmistakably  the  earmarks  of  lax  study  or  incom- 
petent teaching,  Whichever  it  is,  it  has  made  them  jokes  in- 
stead of  newspaper  correspondents.  So  a  warning  is  in  order 
right  here. 

Xever  send  trivial  matter  to  a  newspaper  just  because  you 
have  nothing  really  good  to  send.  Editors  never  use  anything 
simply  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  your  town  is  on  the 
map.  They  are  disgusted  at  receiving  trivial  items.  Xothing 
will  queer  a  correspondent  so  quickly,  not  even  lack  of  reliabil- 
ity. 

The  word  "trivial"  is  subject  to  a  double  interi)retation 
in  this  connection.  If  some  one  steals  a  thousand  dollars  and 
is  arrested,  the  papers  of  your  own  state  might  use  it.  lUit  to 
the  papers  of  other  states  it  would  be  trivial.  If  he  should 
steal  a  hundred  dollars  and  be  arrested,  that  would  be  trivial 
even  in  your  own  state,  unless  he  was  a   proiuinent  i)erson. 

A  state  correspondent  can  use  almost  any  class  of  new<. 
court  cases,  police  cases,  accidents,  crimes  of  all  kinds,  busi- 
ness  news,   deaths  of  prominent  people  or  old   residents,  anni- 

17 


versaries  of  various  kinds,  conventions,  meetings,  church  news, 
weddings,  in  fact,  anything  that  is  not  utterly  inconsequential. 
There  is  no  way  to  draw  a  deadline  between  what  is  trivial  and 
what  is  not,  but  the  use  of  a  little  common  sense  will  enable 
the  correspondent  not  to  get  too  far  below  the  standard.  The 
best  ])lan  is  to  read  the  paper  and  take  note  of  what  gets  in. 
Then  you  w^ill  know  what  to  send.  Editors  have  widely  differ- 
ing ideas.     Some  will  use  what  others  reject. 

The  great  bulk  of  state  news  is  decidedly  trivial  to  paper:^ 
at  a  distance.  If  there  is  another  large  city  right  on  the  border 
of  your  state,  as  Chicago  is  to  Wisconsin  and  Indiana,  for 
instance,  or, Pittsburg  to  Ohio,  or  Cincinnati  to  Kentucky,  the 
papers  in  that  city  will  use  your  state  news.  Only  state  news 
of  general  interest  is  w^anted  by  papers  on  the  far  side  of  other 
states.  Of  course,  there  often  is  in  your  state  news  an  item 
concerning  some  other  city  or  some  person  of  some  other  city. 
Such  stories  are  readily  salable. 

The  best  way  for  a  general  correspondent  to  judge  whether 
to  query  a  story  is  to  "put  yourself  in  his  place."  Suppose  you 
reside  in  Cincinnati  and  are  correspondent  for  a  Chicago  paper. 
If  a  black  hand  artist  dynamites  a  house  it  makes  cjuite  a  stir 
in  Cincinnati.  Size  up  the  magnitude  of  the  story,  how  many 
killed,  how  much  financial  damage,  etc.,  and  consider  whether 
you  would  be  interested  in  it  if  it  had  occurred  in  Chicag(\  If 
not,  then  Chicago  will  not  be  interested  in  it  because  it  occurred 
in  Cincinnati.  That,  I  have  found,  is  the  surest  way  to  avoid 
offering  what  a])pears  to  the  editors  as  trivial.  It"  for  any  num- 
ber of  consecutive  days  T  fail  to  appl}'  that  test,  I  find  myself 
the  recipient  of  a  call  down  for  oft'ering  matters  of  slight  value. 

Don't  send  stories  long  distances  by  mail,  unless  you  have 
something  you  know  is  exclusive  and  can  inform  the  editor  -^o. 
The  natural  supposition  is  that  stories  which  spend  twenty- 
four  hcnns  or  more  on  a  train  are  stale  when  they  arrive. 
Stories  of  a  >pecial  nature  often  are  ordered  by  mail;  that  i>^  a 
different   matter.  •  ^  i^  | 

18 


THE  SPECIALTIES  OF  CERTAIN  PAPERS. 

Almost  every  ne\vsj)ai)er  is  |)arlial  t.»  some  certain  kind  <>f 
news,  because  o\  the  business  <»r  social  interests  of  its  city  or 
the  character  of  its  circulation.  In  testini;  out  this  deniand  and 
studyins^  the  results,  lies  one  of  the  broadest  avenues  to  success. 
The  most  notable  instances  of  sJ)eciali/.inl^^  the  names  of  the 
papers  and  the  kind  of  news  the\-  particularly  desire,  are  ;^'iven 
herewith  : 

Xew  York  Times — Axiation.  art,  wealthy  men.  particularly 
titled  foreigners,  society  weddini^^s  when  one  or  both  parties 
are  known  outside  their  own  city.  i)olitics. 

Xew  York  Sun — Accidents,  crimes,  {.general  news,  and  bi^^ 
stories  which  it  must  have  for  its  news  service,  it  bein.i^  without 
the  Associated  Press. 

Xew  York  Press — I'eature  stories,  the  \er\-  best  only,  an<l 
romance. 

X'ew  York  American — Sensations. 

Xew  York  Herald — Politics  and  lari.'^e  ])u])lic  afi'airs,  wealthy 
men,  society  weddings,  aviation. 

X'ew  York  Journal — Sensations. 

Xew    York    Morning    Telegraph — Theatrical    and    s])orts. 

Boston  Globe — Baseball  and  harness  races. 

Philadelphia  Record — Short,  odd  features,  automobile  news. 

Philadelphia  Xorth  American — Sensations. 

Chicago  Examiner — Xeeds  the  best  of  all  sorts  of  news, 
being  without  the  Associated  IVess. 

Chicago  American — Sensational. 

Chicago  Inter  Ocean — Takes  considerable  sporting  news. 

St.  Louis  (jlobe  Democrat — Takes  considerable  si)orting 
news. 

Pittsburg  Gazette-Times — The  very  best  features  of  a  ro- 
mantic trend. 

Indianapolis  Star — Automobile  new>  an«l  sport>. 

Cincinnati  Enquirer — The  best  features,  preferably  siu^rt. 
sensations,  politics,  sports,  local  o])tion.  especially  "dry"  defeats. 

19 


Cleveland  Leader — Lake  marine.  >])r.rt>. 
Cleveland   Plain  Dealer — Lake  marine,  sports. 
Cleveland  Press — Sensations. 
Piuffalo  Express — Lake  marine. 
Washington  Post — Sports. 

This  enumeration  does  not  mean  that  the  classes  of  news 
specified  are  the  only  ones  these  papers  will  order,  but  the  classes 
they  are  more  likely  than  not  to  order.  Neither  does  it  mean 
that  these  are  all  the  papers  in  the  country  that  are  i^ood  to 
have  on  your  list.  Some  of  the  best  ones  are  not  mentioned 
because  they  do  not  specialize  on  anythini;'.  A  complete  list 
of  papers  correspondents  should  keej)  an  eye  on  is  s^iven  further 
on  in  this  book. 

Just  what  i)aper  is  best  for  a  correspr>ndent  to  have  depends 
uj)on  where  he  resides.  A  correspondent  residinc;"  in  the  east 
naturalh'  can  make  more  money  from  a  New  York  ]:)a])er  than 
he  can  from  a  Chicaj^o  paj)er.  and  \ice  \ersa.  Which  i:)oints 
out  a  vital  essential  of  }'our  campaign — get  the  correspondence 
of  newspajjers  in  the  nearest  large  city.  PAen  if  }'ou  reside  in 
tile  largest  city  in  the  country,  the  princi])le  is  the  same.  Xew 
York  news  is  of  more  interest  in  i^hiladelphia  and  Px^ston  than  it 
is  in  Chicago.  P>ut  from  the  viewpoint  of  the  general  corre- 
spondent, the  correspondent  anywhere  east  of  the  Rockies,  there 
is  just  one  best  paper  to  have — the  Cincinnati  Kncpiirer.  It 
orders  a  bigger  variety  of  news  than  any  other  ncwsj)aper,  and 
nK>re  of  jt.  though  it  rarely  takes  a  long  st(^ry  except  fn^m  points 
in  Ohio.  It  wants  idiotographs  of  every  person  and  thing  of 
consequence.  This  statement  must  not  be  taken  as  an  opinion 
as  to  which  is  the  best  ne\\si)ai)er  in  the  I'nited  States — simply 
which  is  the  best  one  for  a  correspondent  to  ha\e  aside  from 
the  big  city  ])apers  of  his  own  state.  It  is  good  for  another 
reason — it  rarely  sends  staff  men  out  of  (  )liio.  w  hile  Xew  Yc^rk 
and  Chicago  pai)ers  send  >taH  men  on  comi)aratively  slight 
-stories. 

20 


Xcitlier  doc^  llii>  iiu-aii  that  tlu-  l''.ii(|iiiror  will  okUt  every 
thin.ii-  tliat  is  oti'crod.  (  )n  llio  ci.nlrar\.  the  i-".n(|iiirer  is  very 
(liscriminatinL;.  It  you  iA'ivv  i::inH\  stiitY.  y<.n  will  veil  it:  if  you 
offer  trivial  or  silly  tilings,  or  stale  tliiiiL;^.  y..n  will  i;et  turned 
down,  and  turned  down  hard. 

'i'lic  papers  whose  eorrespondenee  is  worth  while  l'. -rni  <piite 
a  hunch,  'idiere  are  a  nund)er  of  prelrntious  papers  puhhshe«l 
in  lar,L,^e  cities,  whose  corres])on(lence  is  not  worth  hothcrin^,' 
with,  hccause  tlieir  rates  are  too  Icnv.  There  are  a  few  from 
^vhonl  you  are  likely  not  to  i^et  your  niouew 

There  are  some  more  which  are  not  of  \alue  t<»  the  jj^eneral 
correspondent  l)ecause  they  order  too  sparingly.  Still  cithers  arc 
afflicted  with  news  editors  or  tele.^raph  editors  who  have  a 
chronic  grouch  so  distressiniL;'  as  to  prexent  their  sceitiL;  the 
value  of  a  news  off'erini^  and  who  think  that  all  iidiahitants  of 
the  earth  except  themsehes  are  cither  knaves  or  fo. .Is.  I  once 
sold  a  story  to  half  a  dozen  of  the  hest  i)a])ers  in  the  country, 
proof  enough  of  its  worth,  and  receixed  a  letter  the  next  <lay 
from  another  editor  scoring  me  for  (pierying  such  a  tri\  ial  thing. 

It  is  not  how  many  papers  you  have  on  your  string-  that 
means  success,  hut  how  good  yinir  papers  are. 

BUILDING  UP  THE  BUSINESS. 

There  are  many  ways  to  accjuire  a  string  of  papers.  In 
every  city  there  is  an  opening.  That  statement  may  seem  a  little 
strange,  but  it  is  true,  because  whenever  a  correspondent  re- 
laxes in  the  slightest  his  attention  to  business,  he  leaves  an 
opening.  Newspaper  correspondence  is  hard  work.  e\en  thoui^h 
fascinating  and  lucrati\e.  An  established  business  of  this  kind 
can  go  to  the  dogs  quicker  than  any  other  kind  of  business  if 
allowed  to  lag.  And  any  correspondent  who  is  not  >j)urred  to 
his  highest  activities  all  the  time,  by  comj)etition  or  ambition, 
is  apt  to  let  matters  drift  once  in  a  while.  That  is  what  leaves 
an  opening  in  every  city  and  what  makes  a  good  share  of  the 
cities  practically  virgin.  , 

31 


One  i)otent  thing^  tending  toward  neglect  of  correspondence 
is  the  fact  that  many,  if  not  most  correspondents  have  positions 
on  ne\vsi)ai)ers  and  often  their  salaried  jobs  keep  them  too  busy 
to  give  their  correspondence  the  attention  it  needs.  Another 
reason  is,  and  this  is  a  condition  that  is  growing  steadily 
throughout  the  country,  that  newspaper  owners  and  editors 
object  to  their  employes  acting  as  correspondents  for  outside 
papers.  They  do  not  care  to  have  their  news  sold  to  competitors 
and  they  consider  that  they  are  entitled  to  the  entire  time  of 
their  employes  when  they  pay  for  it.  I'or  these  reasons  the 
field  for  the  free  lance  is  steadily  broadening.  In  many  cities 
correspondents  have  been  so  hampered  by  such  conditions  that 
they  have  permitted  their  outside  work  to  lapse  entirely,  thu.s 
leaving  an   easy  oj^ening^  for  any  energetic  man. 

Often  correspondents  who  are  too  ham])cred  by  salaried 
jobs  to  attend  to  business  will  be  glad  to  turn  their  corre>])on- 
dence  over  to  some  one  else — for  a  consideration  or  for  friend- 
ship, as  the  case  may  be.  In  such  an  instance  the  correspondent 
simj)ly  writes  to  his  paper  recommending  the  new  man  as  his 
successor.  In  not  one  case  in  a  thousand  will  the  recommen- 
dation be  disregarded,  for  the  ])aper  knows  of  no  one  else  to  call 
on  and  if  the  correspondent  has  been  fairl\-  efficient  his  recom- 
mendation is  good. 

Another  good  way  to  get  a  string  of  papers  is  simply  to 
"show"  them.  If  you  have  some  news  }(H1  think  they  want, 
ofTer  it  to  them.  If  the  ])ai)er  has  no  correspondent  in  your 
city,  or  if  it  has  a  correspondent  who  has  become  lax  in  his 
work,  you  will  get  an  order  if  your  story  appeals  to  the  editor. 
If  the  paper  has  a  correspondent  who  is  active.  }-ou  will  be 
ignored,  lie  probably  has  (pieried  the  same  item.  If  he  hasn't, 
they  will  wait  a  while  to  give  him  a  chance.  If  he  doesn't  come 
through^  probably  you  will  get  the  order,  though  some  papers 
believe,  in  Invaltv  to  their  corresj)ondents  and  will  reter  (picries 
from   strangers  to  their  regular  man. 


Here  is  where  that  eternal  vi^^ilanco  iiioltn  comes  in  af^aiii. 
\\'henever  you  have  a  story  that  ouj^ht  to  inttrest  some  other 
eity,  c|uery  the  papers  tliere  (juiek.  I'o  facilitate  just  that  matter. 
a  directory  of  all  the  ne\vs])apers  in  the  country  whieli  are 
likely  to  i)urchase  news  by  telei^raph  has  been  appemlcd  to  this 
book. 

TESTING  OUT  THE  PAPERS. 

In  doint^  this,  you  are  testinj^  out  the  pai)ers  you  have  or 
desire  to  acquire.  Remember  the  sort  of  stories  you  have  fpicricd 
them  ;  remember  what  the}'  have  ordered  and  what  they  have 
ignored.  If  they  ignore  a  story,  do  not  offer  them  another  of 
the  same  kind  ;  if  they  order,  ofifer  them  all  you  find  in  that  line. 

There  are  other  reasons  for  not  orderin.i;  a  story,  however, 
than  because  the  paper  does  not  want  it.  J'erha])s  the  Asso- 
ciated Press  has  carried  it.  Perhaps  an  afternoon  paper  has  had 
it.  Perhaps  news  is  running  so  heavily  there  is  no  room  except 
for  "must"  stuff.  In  the  latter  case  the  editor  may  have  many 
good  stories  he  would  like  to  run  but  absolutel}'  can't. 

So  don't  draw  an  absolute  conclusion  on  the  first  test.  Try 
them  two  or  three  times,  if  you  have  reason  t<^  tliink  they  ought 
to  like  the  class  of  story  you  offer. 

In  doing  this  you  are  likely  to  run  afoul  of  some  grouchy 
editors  who  like  to  be  considered  watchdogs  of  the  paper's 
treasury  and  wdll  reverse  tolls  on  you.  lUit  if  you  take  the  pains 
to  get  acquainted  with  the  folks  around  the  telegrai)h  (offices, 
who  ninety-nine  times  of  a  hundred  are  tip-top  men.  they  will 
not  charge  you  with  the  refused  message;  they  will  simj)ly 
"bust"  it — declare  it  null,  as  though  not  sent.  This  is  not  a 
violation  of  the  new  law  forbidding  franks.  The  telegraph  com- 
pany does  not  frank  a  message  for  you  ;  it  simi)ly  >ends  it  collect 
and  the  other  party  declines  to  pay. 

In  querying,  make  y<jur  messages  absolutely  the  briete>t 
jjossible  without  impairing  lucidity,  .\lways  number  them.  Tiie 
editor  then  will  order  by  number.     Thi^  will   facilitate  work  and 

2:i 


save  the  i)ai)cr  lolls.  Always  put  at  the  end  of  the  query  the 
number  of  words  you  think  the  story  is  worth.  Suppose  there 
is  a  big^  bank  failure.    V<»u  wire  your  ])ai)er  as  follows: 

Record — Xcw  York. 

o (i^ivini;-    the    name )    National    bank    fails  : 

deposits  ten  million — r)(H». 

Jones. 

If  your  paper  wants  the  whole  story   it  will  answer: 

Jones, 

Chicago; 
Send  5. 

Record. 

Thereupon  you  will  tile  the  entire  story  as  soon  as  possible. 
If  the  editor  is  in  a  hurry  for  it,  his  message  will  read:  **Rush  5.'' 
if  he  is  in  an  extremely  urgent  hurr}-  for  it,  he  will  wire :  "Double 
rush  .")."  Whenever  you  receive  a  rush  or  double  rush  order, 
make  all  possible  haste  in  complying. 

If  the  editor  thinks  the  story  is  not  worth  as  much  as  you 
have  offered  he  will  tell  you  how  much  he  wants.  His  message 
will  read  like  this : 

Jones, 

Chicago ; 
o(M)  of  5. 

Record. 

Ujion  rccci])l  of  which,  cut  the  story  down  to  the  size  he 
<lesires. 

In  si)ecifying  the  nmnber  of  words  in  (luerying  or  ordering, 
neither  side  is  supposed  to  be  exact.  C)nl\'  the  telegraph  com- 
l»anies  count  the  words;  the\'  ha\-e  to,  in  order  to  make  the 
charge.  Ci^rrespondents  and  editors  estimate.  About  ten  lines 
oi  typewritten  cojiy  will  make  a  hundred  words.  About  fifteen 
lines  of  ordinary  newspaper  print  will  make  the  same.  From 
these  it  is  easy  to  estimate  any  amount  desired. 

\c\  er  send  a  blind  query,  "^'our  chance  of  making  a  sale 
will  be  much  belter  if  you  arc  exi)licit.  Do  not  wire:  "Chicago 
man  does  so-and-so."  but  "John  J.  Jones.  Chicago,  (h^es  so-and- 

24 


so."  Many  corresi)()ii(lcnls  fear  iliat  if  tlu-y  disclose  ilu-  iianu-  in 
certain  cases,  ihc  i)ai)crs  will  l.x.k  np  the  st(.ry  on  their  i:n(\ 
and  there  will  be  no  (M'der.  All  honcrahle  papci'-  will  pay  f<.r 
tips  which  result  in  stories. 

Never  exaggerate   a  cpiery  to  make   the   storv  sell. 

EXCLUSIVE  STORIES. 

Of  course,  all  i)apers  like  to  get  exclusive  stories,  "scoops." 
This  sometimes  puts  a  correspondent  who  serves  more  than  one 
()aper  in  a  city  in  a  quandary,  lie  can't  send  a  storv  exclu.sively 
to  one  paper  without  getting  himself  in  bad  with  the  other. 
So  he  is  compelled  to  send  it  to  both.  Generally,  however,  he 
gets  more  for  it  in  that  way  than  he  would  by  offering  it  to 
one  paper  exclusive]}',  for  the  order  would  not  be  much,  if  any. 
larger  for  an  exclusive  than  it  would  be  if  not  offered  as  an 
exclusive.  Most  papers  pay  a  higher  rate  for  an  exclusive  story 
than  for  one  its  competitors  also  have,  but  few  of  them  pay 
a  double  rate. 

You  may  get  man}-  stories  exclusively  your  own.  It  is 
all  right  to  send  them  to  more  than  one  paper  in  the  same  city. 
But  always  rewrite  them.  The  substance  may  be  the  same,  but 
make  them  look  different.  You  can  do  this  by  leaving  out 
some  inconsequential  point  in  the  story  as  sent  to  one  paper, 
put  it  into  the  other  story  and  omit  some  little  point  in  place  <»f 
it.  But  never  omit  an  essential  fact.  \\'rite  the  story  differently 
all  the  way  through,  but  get  all  the  important  facts  in.  If  a 
paper  is  not  scooped,  there  will  be  no  complaint. 

There  is  one  kind  of  exclusi\'C  you  are  bound  t<~>  protect, 
however.  If  your  ])a])er  digs  up  something  in  its  own  town  and 
wires  you  to  look  u])  some  matters  pertaining  to  it  in  >">ur 
town,  that  is  their  business  exclusively.  As  a  matter  of  hon..r 
you  must  not  tip  it  oft'  to  any  other  paper  whatsoever,  no  matter 
how  much  money  you  might  make  from  it.  if  you  do  not  hap- 
pen to  be  squeamish  regarding  the  honor  ((ue^lion.  i)rotect  il  as 

25 


a   matter  of    safety  to  yourself.     A   paper  undoubtedly   would 
discharge  you  for  giving  away  its  news. 

When  you  have  a  good,  live  competitor  in  your  city  as  a 
corresi)on(lcnt,  it  is  good  policy  to  work  with  him.  In  that  case 
you  can  respect  each  other's  papers  ;  that  is.  do  not  query  his 
papers  and  he  will  not  query  yours.  You  can  exchange  news 
and  thus  lighten  your  labors.  You  will  run  much  less  chance 
of  getting  scooped  and  drawing  a  lecture.  For  be  it  known,  a 
correspondent  never  gets  praise  or  reward  for  sending  an  exclus- 
ive, unless  it  be  a  slight  advance  in  rate  of  payment,  but  he 
always  gets  a  calling  down  if  he  gets  scooped.  It's  one  of  the 
queer  things  about  the  newspaper  business.  All  your  brilliant 
things  are  taken  as  a  matter  of  course ;  no  headliners  for  you, 
as  in  the  case  with  a  brilliant  ball  player,  no  hoist  in  salary, 
unless  you  threaten  to  cjuit  if  you  don't  get  it.  But  if  you  get 
scooped  just  once,  you  are  likely  to  get  fired. 

Another  thing  that  is  almost  certain  to  draw  a  dismissal 
is  to  send  a  paper  a  story  that  gets  it  into  a  libel  suit  or  a 
damage  suit.  Be  very  careful  w^hat  you  write.  It  is  seldom 
that  a  libelous  sentence  will  add  to  the  value  of  your  story. 
It  may  be  true,  but  at  that,  it  is  not  worth  your  while  to  take 
a  chance.  While  such  a  sentence  will  be  noticed  if  it  is  printed, 
no  one  will  miss  it  if  it  is  not  printed,  for  no  one  but  you  knows 
of  it. 

RATES  OF  REMUNERATION. 

The  rates  of  payment  of  the  large  newspapers  in  Xew  York, 
Chicago,  St.  Louis,  Boston,  Baltimore,  Washington,  Detroit, 
Cincinnati,  Buffalo,  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis,  Kansas  City,  Colum- ' 
bus,  Indianapolis,  New  Orleans,  Brooklyn,  Rochester,  San 
Francisco,  Los  Angeles,  Omaha,  Seattle,  Providence,  and  Port- 
land, Oregon,  vary  but  little.  Certain  large  cities  I  have  omitted 
from  this  list  because,  for  what  reason  I  do  not  know,  their 
rates  of  payment  are  noticeably  lower  than  those  of  the  papers 
in  the  cities  mentioned.     Probably  it  is  due  to  local  conditions. 

2G 


]\Iany  medium  sized  cities  T  have  not  mentioned  because  I  am 
iU>t  certain  of  their  axera^e  rates;  some  medium  si/.etl  cities 
liaxe  l)een  included  because  I  (U)  know  their  rates  arc  as  i^ood 
as  those  of  New  ^'o^k  and  Ihica^o  papers. 

A  few  of  the  ver\-  i)est  jxiikts  ha\e  a  mininuim  of  r.o  cents 
an  item,  this  applyini;-  to  cvervtliiuL;;  up  to  rj.")  words.  At  l.jO 
words  To  cents  is  the  rate,  which  stands  for  everythini^  u|)  to 
noo  words,  wlien  it  becomes  a  dollar.  I'or  ."inn  words  the\-  pay 
two  dollars  and  for  lon^c^er  stories,  the  payiuent  is  by  the  column. 

r^Iost  of  the  _<;"(^od  pa])ers  have  a  mininuun  of  '.\~t  cents, 
which  is  not  raised  imtil  the  l-")(>  word  mark  is  reached.  For 
l.")<i  they  pay  fifty  cents,  and  for  Ioniser  items,  about  what  the 
hii^hest  class  papers  pay. 

Some  papers  pay  altoi^ether  on  the  fractional  cohunn  or 
inch  measurement.  These  i)apers  are  very  unsatisfactory  to 
deal  with,  for  the}'  may  order  a  300  word  story  in  <T^ood  faith, 
and  you  fill  the  order,  but  when  it  comes  time  for  the  "make-up" 
the  editor  in  charge  may  find  his  pages  full  and  in  order  not 
to  leave  out  some  stories  altogether,  he  luay  yank  out  all  l)Ut 
a  single  paragraph  of  each.  If  yours  is  among  them  you  are 
likely  to  get  paid   for  but  fifty  or  seventy-five  words. 

The  highest  class  papers  pay  for  what  they  order,  whether 
they  use  it  or  not,  on  the  same  principle  that  a  reporter  gets 
his  salary  for  going  out  on  assignment,  no  matter  if  he  fails 
to  get  anything  to  write.  These  best  papers  also  j)ay  well 
for  mere  tips.  If  a  (|uery  gives  them  a  clew  to  where  a  good 
story  can  be  obtained  locally,  they  send  a  man  out  on  it  and 
pay  the  correspondent  for  whatever  the  story  amounts  to  in 
type.  Often  I  have  received  checks  of  goodly  size  without 
having  the  least  idea  what   story  they  were   for. 

While  on  the  subject  of  rates,  a  word  reganling  book- 
keeping ought  to  be  said.  Most  papers  recpiire  that  the  tele- 
graphic orders  be  sent  to  them  at  the  end  of  each  month  for 
audit.     Make  a  note  on  them  of  the  subject   matter  sent.     It  is 

27 


a  i;<j()(l  plan  tu  keep  a  little  book  in  which  all  orders  are  copied, 
with  the  date  and  number  of  words  and  subject  of  the  story. 
Then  if  your  orders  are  lost,  or  your  check  is  less  than  it  should 
be.  you  can  make  out  an  itemized  statement.  I  have  saved 
many  dollars  by  obtaining-  corrections,  throu.c^h  this  system. 

The  book  also  is  \aluable  for  reference.  If  you  desire 
to  know  when  a  certain  thiniE^  happened  which  was  bi^  news 
at  the  time,  a  i;iance  throuj^h  your  book  will  readily  find  the 
date.  Sometimes  you  will  want  to  refer  to  it  in  subsexjuent 
stories  rct^ardini^-  the  same  matter. 

There  are  four  cities  of  more  than  .'JUG, (MM)  ])opulation.  San 
Francisco,  Los  Angeles.  Xew  Orleans  and  Minneai)olis,  that 
are  so  far  from  the  centers  of  g-eneral  news,  and  the  telegraph 
rates  are  so  high,  that  the  papers  do  not  order  general  news 
at  all,  relying  on  the  big  news  services  for  it.  They  will  take 
stories  with  a  local  end  to  them,  however,  and  pay  well  for 
them.      And  they  are  \ery  good  for  state  correspondence. 

Milwaukee  is  so  close  to  Chicago  and  Newark  so  close  to 
New  York  that  the  papers  order  scarcely  anything  but  state 
news. 

In  cities  of  less  than  150,000  population  you  take  chances. 
Their  rates  are  too  low  and  some  of  them  are  likely  to  for- 
get altogether  to  pay  }()U.  There  are  some  good  ones.  I  hap- 
pen to  know  that  the  Utica  Press  and  South  I'cnd  Trilnme 
l)ay  good  rates.  They  want  nothing,  howexer,  except  news 
local  to  them.  I^robably  there  are  a  good  many  others  scattered 
through  the  country.  Anyone  having  on  his  hands  a  plethora 
of  spare  time  he  (h^es  not  know  what  to  i\o  with  might  find  it 
to  advantage  to  test  them  out.  I  tested  only  enough  to  learn 
that  it  was  tedious  task  to  sift  out  the  good  ones.  Doubtless 
there  are  a  host  of  small  city  pai)ers  in  the  country  that  pay 
good  rates  for  state  news.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  test  out  all 
the  j)a])ers  in  your  stale  in  cities  of  '.^o.OOO  or  more  population. 


THE  TRADE   PAPER   FIELD. 

'Llic  trade  piipcrs  alT.  .rd  a  field  which  oii-hl  ii.-l  lo  he  cvei- 
l(K)ked  by  the  cc^rrcsjx  .ndeiu.  S.»ine  of  them  i)av  very  j^ood 
rates.  The  mailer  ihey  desire  i>  easy  to  w  rite  and  eas\-  to  .leather 
if  you  take  pains  ic  make  an  acciiiaintanee  amoni;-  the  leaders 
in  your  city  of  tlie  hu>ine>s  whicli  the  paper  represents.  Tliey 
pay  ])y  the  inch.  They  use  items  of  actual  news  c<incernin}.,^ 
their  business,  such  as  the  establishment  of  new  stores  or  fac- 
tories, failures,  chaui^es  of  officers  and  store  nianai;ers,  tiie 
accomplishments  of  travelling-  men  and  coi)ious  interviews  on 
how  good  trade  is  and  wh}-.  The  best  ones  also  use  j^jood 
feature  stories  and  anecdotes  concernini;-  men  prominent  in  their 
trade  and  stories  of  the  doiuf^s  of  these  men,  their  opinions  on 
trade  problems  and  sometimes  on  matters  extraneous  to  com- 
mercialism. Good  stories  often  can  be  de\cloped  by  a  con- 
versation regarding  business. 

Prominent  among  these  papers  are  the  automol)ile.  nuisic 
and  jewelry  trade  papers.  Almost  every  trade  is  represented 
bv  one  or  more  ])ublications  devoted  to  its  interest^.  Most 
of  them  are  willing  to  ])ay  something  for  trade  news  they  can 
use,  though  the  rates  of  many  of  them  are  low. 

The  automobile  formerly  was  in  the  sporting  realm,  but 
the  sport  was  commercialized  to  such  an  extent  that  newsi)ai)ers 
no  longer  handle  automobile  aft'airs  as  news.  They  publish 
such  items  in  a  s])ecial  column  set  aside  inr  boosting  that  par- 
ticular business  and  take  their  i)ay  in  high  rates  on  extensive 
advertising.  The  automobile  i)apers  use  everything  pertaining 
to  the  trade  or  sport  and  pay  good  rates  for  it.  Trade  paper 
news  always  goes  by  mail  unless  it  is  something  »»f  umi>ual 
importance  that  turns  u])  on  the  day  of  going  to  i)ress. 

COMPOSITION. 

While  this  book  d-.e-  not  essay  to  teach  composili<»n.  it 
being  assumed  that  anyone  who  aspires  to  be  a  newspaper  cor- 
respondent   has    some    knowledge    of    I'Jigli-h.    a    few    i)oints    in 

29 


which   nc\vsi)ai)er  stories  (Hffer  from  other  compositions  are  in 
order. 

Always  state  in  your  first  sentence,  and  make  the  sentence 
as  short  as  possible,  the  predominant  fact  of  your  story.  If  a 
fact(M-}-  burns,  do  not  bc^in  by  sayini;-;  '"In  a  spectacular  blaze 
which  started  at  midnii^ht  and  raged  for  three  hours,  neces- 
sitating the  presence  of  almost  the  entire  fire  fighting  force  of 
the  city  to  get  it  under  control,  the  plant  of  Smith,  Jones  and 
company  was  entirely  destroyed  last  night.'' 

Write  it  like  this:  "'J1ie  big  stove  manufacturing  plant  of 
Smith,  Jones  and  company  was  entirely  destroyed  bv  fire  last 
midnight.  The  loss  is  $r)00,0()0."  Then,  having  told  the  all 
important  thing  that  ha])pcned.  go  on  with  your  details. 

That  rule  a])j)]ics,  no  matter  how  l)ig  or  how  little  your 
story.  , 

Don't  use  flowery  language.  Don't  use  long  or  compli- 
cated sentences.  Don't  use  long  paragraphs.  Don't  use  a  long 
word  when  }-ou  can  think  of  a  short  one  meaning  the  same 
thing,  unless  you  are  paid  space  rates.  Tn  that  case  there  is 
|)rorit  in   the  use  of  long  words. 

In  the  newspa])er  \<^cal)ulary  there  are  no  such  words  as 
"lady"  and  "gentleman."  An  adult  is  either  a  man  or  a  woman. 
That  is  al)out  the  only  universal  rule  remaining  of  the  severe 
code  of  twenty  years  ago  which  made  a  trained  newspaper  man 
at  home  in  any  ofiicc  he  might  enter.  Nowadays  rules  are 
different  in  every  office,  owing  to  the  fact  that  so  many  men 
"get  into"  the  business  instead  of  growing  up  in  it  and  learning 
its  ways.  !^o  just  write  ])lain.  simple  English  and  let  the  editors 
and  copy  readers  apply  the  rules  of  their  ]')apcrs. 

The  appended  (Hieclory  of  newsjiapers  contain^  tlic  names 
of  all  in  cities  of  loo.ooo  or  more  ])oi)ulation  with  which  it  is 
liki'Iy  that  a  correspondent  can  do  business  protitabl}'.  There 
are   a    good    man\'   more   in    smaller   cities   but    they    arc    in    the 

30 


market  for  state  corresijoiidcnce  only.  'I'lie  best  wav  U)  learii 
their  needs,  desires,  manner  o(  treating  corresijondents,  rates 
of  payments,  etc..  is  to  test  ihem  out. 

There  are  some  cities  of  considerably  more  than  1<mi,0(M> 
population  that  are  not  enumerated  here.  That  is  because  they 
are  in  a  state  in  which  the  ne\vspai)ers  of  the  larj^est  city  have 
complete  domination  and  contn^l  of  the  held,  such  as  Mas- 
sachusetts, Pennsylvania  and  Illinois.  Under  such  circum- 
stances  the   papers  of  small   cities   are  almost  strictly  local. 

There  are  some  very  small  cities  in  the  list.  This  is  be- 
cause they  are  the  most  important  factors  in  their  portion  (A 
the  world.  A  city  of  25,000  population  in  the  Montana,  Idalio. 
^^'yoming  section  of  the  United  States  is  of  as  much  consequence 
thereabouts  as  a  city  of  a  million  would  be  in  Xew  Ycrk. 
Illinois  or  Pennsylvania. 

But  it  is  not  intended  that  a  correspondent  in  the  middle 
west  should  understand  that  he  can  sell  news  to  lUitte  and 
Boise,  or  to  Seattle  or  San  Francisco,  unless  it  is  an  item  in 
which  the  city  queried  is  direct!}^  concerned.  Those  cities  are 
inserted  in  this  list  for  the  l^enefit  of  cr)rres])ondents  of  the 
far  northwest. 

Let  the  same  rule  apply  in  other  parts  of  the  country. 
Your  greatest  business  will  be  with  the  papers  ri.^ht  next  door 
to  you.  The  matter  you  sell  at  a  distance  will  have  to  be 
something-  directly  aiTecting  the   city  to  which   it    is  offered. 

In  regard  to  the  telegraph  companies,  the  j)apers  gener- 
ally permit  the  correspondents  to  cIk^osc  their  own.  'idiere 
are  a  few  who  still  order  e\'erything  cxclusi\  ely  b>'  W  estern 
Union  because  they  -liave  no  Postal  loojis  in  their  ottice.-. 
Among  them  arc  the  Cincinnati  Enciuirer,  Washington  Post. 
Chicago  Journal,  Cincinnati  Times-Star.  Pittsburg  Dispatch. 
Xew  York  Press,  Boston  journal.  Kansas  City  Journal.  Xew 
York  Telegraph  and  Brooklyn  Times.  There  is  no  paper  that 
I  know  of  that  (orders  exclusively  by   Postal  Telegraph.      ICarly 

31 


in  llJll  I  made  a  com])laint  to  both  telegraph  companies  be- 
cause they  were  i)ermitting-  operators  to  act  as  newspaper 
correspondents.  This  is  very  unfair  competition  because  a  cor- 
respondent cannot  file  a  message  without  it  being  at  the  mercv 
of  other  newspapers  if  a  telegraph  operator  is  acting  as  a  cor- 
resi)ondent  for  them.  The  Western  Union  i^ut  a  stop  to  the 
])ractice,  but  llie  Postal,  in  spite  of  re])eated  protests,  neg- 
lected to  do  so.  1  mention  this  in  order  that  correspondents 
ma\-  be  able  to  (hscriminate  as  to  their  best  interests. 


32 


DIRECTORY  OF  NEWSPAPERS. 

In  this  dirccinry  of  newspapers  the  cities  of  more  than 
200,000  population  are  .^iven  first,  in  tlie  order  of  greatness. 
l)ecause  it  is  wiili  the  papers  in  the  larp^est  cities  that  nine- 
tenths  of  the  correspondence  is  done.  'Idle  smaller  cities  are 
arrans^ed  alphabetically.  Their  paj)ers  are  L^dven  simply  as  a 
convenience  to  correspondents  who  may  happen  to  turn  up 
some  news  directly  atYectini;-  some  small  citv  and  desire  to  otYer 
it  there. 

S<^me  well  known  papers  arc  omitted  from  this  list  because 
the  writer  cannot  conscientiously  advise  corres|)on{lents  to  file 
matter  to  them.  Either  their  rates  are  low,  or  they  are  lax  in 
their  book  keeping-,  or  they  treat  correspondents  as  a  i)est 
rather  than  as  an  aid  to  their  business.  These  thiniL^s  have 
been  learned  from  experience. 

The  papers  marked  with  the  star  are  the  very  best  for  a 
correspondent  to  have.  They  pay  the  best  rates  and  order  the 
most  stuff.  There  is  no  criticism  whatever  on  those  not  so 
marked.  They  may  be  gold  mines  for  state  correspondents, 
but  they  order  sparingly  of  general  news,  either  because  they 
depend  upon  the  big  news  services  for  it  or  because  they  have 
arrangements  wdth  some  certain  bureau  in  a  big  city  to  supply 
them  with  all  they  need  and  thus  save  the  telegraph  tolls  en- 
tailed by  receiving  queries  from  many  correspondents. 

The  names  of  afternoon  papers  are  inserted  for  the  same 
reason  that  the  names  of  papers  in  small  cities  are  used — f'»r 
emergency.  With  the  exception  of  the  few^  marked  with  the 
star,  it  is  useless  to  try  to  sell  them  general  news. 

The  coupling  of  morning  and  afternoon  papers  signifies 
that  they  are  published  by  the  same  company. 

New  York  City  (Population  4,776,000) 

Morning  Aftcrn<^on 

*Times  Mail 

*Press  Globe 

*  World ^Evening  World 

^American ^^Journal 

'^Herald Telegram 

-Sun ^'-'Evening  Sun 

Tribune  ^''Brooklyn  Eagle   (Sun.  m<M-n.) 

Brooklyn  Times 
Brooklyn  Citizen  (Sun.  morn.) 
Brooklyn  Standard  &  Union 

(Sun.    morn."! 

33 


Chicago  (2,185,000) 


■-^'Examiner 

^Record  Herald 
-^=Tribiine 

, -American 

News 

Journal 

Post 

"^■Record 
■''Inf|iiirer 
Public    Led^^er 
Xorth  American 
Press 

Philadelphia  (1,549,000) 

Bulletin 

Herald 

Item    (Sunday  morning) 

Times    (Sunday    morning) 

Star 

Telegraph 

"Republic 
'''Globe-Democrat 

St.  Louis  (687,000) 

'4'osl   Dispatch    (Sun.  morn.) 
Star   (Sunday  morning) 
Times 

■'■  (ilobe 

Boston  (670,000) 
( ilobe 

Post 

Advertiser 

American 

Record 

Traveller 

Transcript 

Leader 
Plain    Dealer 

Cleveland  (560,000) 

Press 
Xews 

Baltimore    (558,000) 

American 

News 
Star 

Ciazctte-Times 
Post 


Pittsburg  (533,000) 


Chronicle 

Sun 

Leader   (Sunday  morning) 

IVess   (Sunday  morning) 


'■I^'ree  Press 
Xews 


Detroit  (465,000) 

journal 
Xews 


34 


Buffalo  (423,000) 

*Kxpress 

Xcws    (Sini(Ia\    ni<>rninL;) 

Courier 

l'ji(|nircr 

TinK-s   (  Sunday   mornini;  i 

• 

C\)ninicrcial 

San  Francisco  (il6,000) 

*Kxaminer 

News 

Call 

P.ullelin 

Chronicle 

Post 

Milwaukee  (373,000) 


Free   Press 

Sentinel Sentinel 

Xcws 
[ournal 


Fveninj^-  Wisconsin 


Enquirer 


Cincinnati  (363,000) 

"Times -Star 
Post 


Newark,  N.  J.  (347,000) 

Star Star 

Xews 


Times-Democrat 
Picavune 


New  Orleans  (339,000) 

Item    (Sunday  mornini^) 
States   (Sunday  nK^rninn^) 
News 

Washington  (331,000) 


Post 

Herald 

Star   (Sunday  morninof) 
Times    (Sunday  aflernor 

Kansas  City  (330,000) 

Including-     Kansas     City,     Kas. 

*Star 

Journal 

Star 

Tost    (Sundrn-   niorninc;') 

Los  Angeles  (319,000) 

Examiner 

Herald 

Times 

l^xprcss 
Record 

35 


Minneapolis  (301,000) 

Tril)iiiic Tribune 

Journal    (Sunday  morning) 
Xcws    (Sunday  morning) 

Seattle  (237,000) 

I'ost  Intcllii^cnccr  Tinic^   (Sunday  morning) 

Star 

Indianapolis  (233,000) 

*Star  Xe\v> 

Sun 

Providence   (224,000) 

Journal  llulletin 

'rri])une 
News 

Louisville   (223,000) 

Herald 

Courier-Journal  Post 

Rochester,  N.  Y.  (218,000) 

Herald  I'ost   Express 

Democrat-Chronicle  Union-Advertiser 

St.  Paul  (214,000) 

Pioneer  Press  Dispatch 

News    (Sunday   morning) 

Portland,  Oregon  (207,000) 

Oregonian  Oregon   Journal    (Sun.    morn.) 

Telegram 

Albany,  N.  Y. 

Argus  Journal 

Knickerbocker-Press  Times-l'nion 

Atlanta,  Ga. 

Constitution  (Georgian 

Jcnirnal 

Augusta,  Ga. 
C'lironicle  Herald    (Sunday   morning) 

3(> 


/ 

Aberdeen,  S.  D. 

American 

Xews 
Austin,  Texas. 

Statesman 

'I'rihinu' 
Birmingham,  Ala. 

(Sunday  morning) 

Age- He  raid 

Ledger 
Xews 

Burlington,  la. 

1  ia\vke\e 

Gazette 

Bridgeport,  Conn. 
Telegram   (  Xo  Sunday)  I'ost 

Boise,  Idaho. 


Idaho  Statesman 

C^ipital  Xews 
Butte,  Mont. 

Miner 

Xews  (Sunday 
Intcr-Mountain 

Columbus,  Ohio. 

morning) 

State  Journal 

Dispatch 

X'^ews 

Citizen 

• 

Cedar  Rapids,  la. 

Republican 

Gazette 
Chattanooga,  Tenn. 

Times 

X  e  w  s 
Charlotte,  N.  C. 

Observer 

Xews    (Sunday 
Chronicle 

Charleston,  S.  C. 

morning 

Xews 

Columbia,  S.  C. 

State 

ivecord 
Duluth,  Minn. 

Xews-Tribune 

Herald 

37 


Dallas,  Texas. 

Xews  riiiies-l  lerald    (Sun.  morn.) 

Des  Moines,  la. 

Ivegislcr  and    Leader  ("ai)ital 

Tribune 
Xews    (."Sunday    morning) 

Davenport,  la. 

Democrat- Leader    (Sun.    morn.) 

Dubuque,  la. 

Times-Journal .Times-Journal 

^relejTfrapli-I  lerald 

Denver,  Colo, 

Xews  Times 

Ixepuhlican  Post 

Elmira,  N.  Y. 

Advertiser   (Xo  Sunday)  Star-(  iazette 

Evansville,  Ind. 

Courier  Journal- Xews 

Press 

Fort  Wayne,  Ind. 

Journal-riazelte  Xews 

Sentinel 

Fort  Worth,  Texas. 
Kccord  .^tar-Teleii'ram    (Sun.    morn.) 

Fargo,  N.  D. 
Xexvs  l-'orum    and   Kepuhliean 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 

Herald  Xews 

Press 

Galveston,  Texas. 

W^^vs  rril)une 

Guthrie.  Okla. 

nklahotiia  State  Capital  I  eader 

:j8 


Houston,  Texas. 

l*<)St  1  lino 

L'hronick-   (Sunday   ni'iriiini^t 

Hartford,  Conn. 
L'oiirant    (NO  Sunda\  )  rimes 

I  N.St 

Helena,  Mont. 

Indepeiidenl  Montana    Kccrd 

Knoxville,  Tenn. 
junrnal-TrihtUK'  Sentinel 

Lincoln,  Neb. 

Xel)raska  Slate  journal  Star    iSnndax    m«irnin,L,M 

Xews 

Leavenworth,   Kas. 
d^imes  i'ost 

Little  Rock,  Ark. 

Arkansas   (iazette 

Memphis,  Tenn. 

Commercial    Api)eal  Xews  Scimitar 

Press 

Muskogee,  Okla. 

Plienix  Idmes-Democral 

Macon,  Ga. 

l\dei;"raph  Xews 

Montgomery,   Ala. 
Adxertiser  Journal 

Nashville,  Tenn. 
d'ennesseean  Hanner 

Norfolk,  Va. 

Landmark  \irginian-Pilut 

Ledi^er-Dispatch 

39 


Omaha,  Neb. 

W'orld-Mcriild  Xews 

Oklahoma  City,  Okla. 

(  )klahunian  Times 

Oklahoma    Xews 

Ogden,  Utah. 

Standard  Standard 

Peoria,   111. 
I  lerald-Tran.script  Star   (Sunda\-  ni.»rnin<;-) 

Portland,  Me. 
ICastern    Ar.L^us    iXo   Sunday)      Express 
I'ress 

Reading,  Pa. 

Times  Eagle 

Telegram 

Richmond,  Va. 

I  imes- Dispatch  X'irginian 

journal 
Xews- Leader 

Roanoke,  Va. 
Times 

Reno,   Nevada. 

Xe\ada   State   Journal  (ia/ctle 

Syracuse,  N.   Y. 

I'dst    Standard    (  Xo    Sunday)       Herald    (Sunday   morning) 

journal 

Scranton,  Pa. 

Tribune  Kepuhliran  Trutli 

South  Bend,  Ind. 

Tribune 

St.  Joseph,  Mo. 

(  la/rttc  Xews  Tress 

40 


Springfield,  M^§s./.\  [     :  -•{'.*• :.;  :*. 

Inion  L'liion 

KcpuMioan  News 

Sacramento,  Cal. 
Star 

San  Antonio,  Texas. 

l^.\j)rcss  I'i.i^lit    (Snn(la\-   morning) 

Spokane,  Wash. 

Tnlaiid    Iloralil  Inland    Herald 

Press 
Chronicle 

Salt  Lake  City,  Utah. 

llcrald   Ixcpuhlican  Tele.qram 

Tribune 

Savannah,  Ga. 
\i\\-  Press 

Sioux   City,  la. 

Journal  Journal 

Tribune 
News 

Sioux  Falls,  S.  D. 
Press  Ari^us- Leader 

Troy,  N.  Y. 

j\ec(»rd  Rec(»rd 

Standard 
Times 
Press 

Toledo,  Ohio. 

Times  News- Pee 

Plade 

Terre  Haute,  Ind. 
Tribune 


...  ]  j_  '   Tacoma,  Wash. 

Ledcfer  Tribune 

News 

Times 

Topeka,  Kas. 

Capital  ^^tatc  j.mrnal 

Trenton,  N.  J. 

True  American  Times 

State  Gazette 

Utica,  N.  Y. 

Press  Observer 

Herald   Dispatch 

Worcester,  Mass. 

Telegram  Gazette 

Post 

Wichita,  Kas. 

I*La;.!^le  Peacon 

Wheeling,  W.  Va. 

Intelli.qoncer  News    (Sunday    mornincr) 

Rei;ister  Tele,qraj)li 

Wilmington,   Del. 

News  Journal 

l^\er\'   I''\enine" 


42 


^^  .■^■v 


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